Shipping Garments From Thailand to the USA: Duty Rates, Labels and What a Seller Pays

What each garment pays

The rate comes from the tariff code and the code comes from the garment and its cloth. Thailand has no preferential agreement with the United States, so the general column of the tariff is the one that applies to every shipment.

Rates from the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, US International Trade Commission, consulted 8 September 2026.

Two entries in the same chapter are worth reading before a first order is quoted. A men's suit containing 36 percent or more wool that falls outside the worsted heading is 52.9 cents per kilo plus 21 percent under 6203.19.20.00. A women's synthetic fibre suit under 6204.13.20 is 35.3 cents per kilo plus 25.9 percent. Both are specific duties, which means the weight of the garment adds to the bill on top of the percentage.

Fibre content decides the code, and the code decides the rate. A cotton dress at 8.4 percent and a cotton shirt at 19.7 percent leave the same factory in the same box.

The 800 dollar exemption is suspended

Sellers used to keep each parcel under 800 dollars and clear it free of duty. That route is closed for anything moving by courier rather than through the post.

"The exemption provided in paragraph (a) of this section is suspended for merchandise arriving via all modes other than through the international postal network until such time as CBP determines that the application of the exemption is no longer inconsistent with the purpose of 19 U.S.C. 1321(a), no longer jeopardizes the revenue, and no longer facilitates unlawful importations."

Source: 19 CFR 10.151(b), eCFR, current as of 26 August 2026 (CBP Dec. 26-12, 91 FR 37800, 24 June 2026).

The threshold that still means something is 2,500 dollars, which is the ceiling for the lighter entry procedure rather than an exemption from duty:

"(a) Shipments of merchandise not exceeding $2,500 in value (except for articles valued in excess of $250 classified in Chapter 99, Subchapters III and IV, HTSUS)"

Source: 19 CFR 143.21(a), eCFR, current as of 26 August 2026.

Sending the same order as five parcels instead of one no longer reduces the duty. It multiplies the shipping cost.

Dragon Courier quotes the USA duty inclusive. The duty is worked out before the box leaves Thailand and sits inside the price, and the buyer receives the parcel with nothing to pay on arrival.

The label the garment has to carry

Three pieces of information go on the label of every imported garment. Fibre content by weight, the name or registered number of the business behind it, and the country where it was made.

"(1) The generic names and percentages by weight of the constituent fibers present in the textile fiber product, excluding permissive ornamentation, in amounts of 5 percent or more and any fibers disclosed in accordance with § 303.3(a) shall appear in order of predominance by weight with any percentage of fiber or fibers required to be designated as \"other fiber\" or \"other fibers\" appearing last. (2) The name, provided for in § 303.19, or registered identification number issued by the Commission, of the manufacturer or of one or more persons marketing or handling the textile fiber product. (3) The name of the country where such product was processed or manufactured, as provided for in § 303.33."

Source: 16 CFR 303.16(a), eCFR, current as of 31 August 2026.

How it is printed matters as much as what it says:

"(b) All parts of the required information shall be set forth in such a manner as to be clearly legible, conspicuous, and readily accessible to the prospective purchaser. All parts of the fiber content information shall appear in type or lettering of equal size and conspicuousness."

Source: 16 CFR 303.16(b), eCFR, current as of 31 August 2026.

The country of origin is its own requirement, and it is tied to what customs decides rather than to where the brand is based:

"(1) Each imported textile fiber product shall be labeled with the name of the country where such imported product was processed or manufactured"

"(d) The country of origin of an imported textile fiber product as determined under the laws and regulations enforced by United States Customs and Border Protection shall be considered to be the country where such textile fiber product was processed or manufactured."

Source: 16 CFR 303.33, eCFR, current as of 31 August 2026.

A garment sewn in Thailand is labelled Made in Thailand, whoever ordered it and wherever the cloth came from.

Marking, and the exception that does not cover a seller

Country of origin marking is a customs requirement separate from the FTC label, and it applies to the article itself rather than to the paperwork.

"Unless excepted by law, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), requires that every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article, at the time of importation into the Customs territory of the United States."

Source: 19 CFR 134.11, eCFR, current as of 26 August 2026.

There is an exception, and it is written around what the importer does with the goods:

"(f) Articles imported for use by the importer and not intended for sale in their imported or any other form;"

Source: 19 CFR 134.32(f), eCFR, current as of 26 August 2026.

A garment going to a person who will wear it sits inside that exception. Stock going to a shop, a warehouse or an online store does not, because it is imported for sale. Anything a seller ships to the United States is marked.

Unmarked goods are held at the port until they are marked or exported. The cost of fixing a label after arrival is higher than the cost of sewing it in Bangkok.

Thailand has no textile visa or quota

Garments from Thailand need no export visa, no quota allocation and no certification of any kind for the United States. The requirement was cancelled for World Trade Organization member countries in 2005, and Thailand is named in the list.

"Effective on July 1, 2005, you are directed to cancel all requirements for visa, ELVIS, exempt certification, guaranteed access level certification, quota reporting, and staged entry for entry of goods exported prior to January 1, 2005. It will cover all textile and apparel exports from the aforementioned list of WTO member countries"

Source: Cancellation of Visa, ELVIS, Guaranteed Access Level (GAL) Certification, and Exempt Certification Requirements for Member Countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, Federal Register Vol. 70 No. 127, 5 July 2005, FR Doc. E5-3490.

The list in that notice names Thailand alongside Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Nothing published since has reintroduced a bilateral textile visa or quota for Thailand.

What it costs

Price is weight and dimension, quoted for the country, with duty and tax inside the number. The USA route runs on three tiers, and a seller shipping repeat orders should know which one is being bought.

Thai Baht, duty and tax included, price list of 3 August 2026.

Shipments run from 0.1 kg to 30 kg. There is no volume discount, no remote area surcharge and no hidden fee, and the price is the same on a first box as on a fiftieth.

A box is billed on its actual weight or on the space it takes in the hold, whichever is greater. Garments are light and bulky, so a clothing parcel almost always prices on the space rather than on the scale. Vacuum packing a bulk order changes the price more than anything else a seller controls.

What to have ready before booking

The fibre composition of each style, because the code and the rate depend on it. The invoice value line by line rather than as a single total. Confirmation that the labels are sewn in before the box is packed. The full delivery address with a phone number that works in the United States.

Customs clearance is generally completed the same day the shipment is presented. Dragon Courier clears customs itself rather than handing the file to a broker.

About Dragon Courier

Dragon Courier is a Bangkok courier shipping worldwide from Thailand, with more than 20,000 shipments a month. Garments have been part of the business since it began, and the company has served the Thai tailoring trade for 30 years.

For the USA, Dragon Courier runs its own service to the destination and clears customs itself, then a US carrier delivers to the door. Duty and tax sit inside the quoted fee under the duty inclusive process, which covers the USA, the UK, the EU, Canada, Norway, Switzerland and the UAE. Collection from a shop or a workshop is free in Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.

Contacts and drop-off

A quote needs the garments, the fibre composition and the destination. Office +66 2656 9019, LINE and WhatsApp at +66 6-5937-0812, or info@dragoncourier.com.

Drop-off runs until 17:00, Monday to Saturday, at the Bangkok office on Sukhumvit Soi 4 or the Chiang Mai office on Viangbua Road, and a pickup can be arranged for a date and time that suits. What customs asks for market by market is set out in the guide on shipping clothes from Thailand, and the wider USA route is covered in the guide on shipping from Thailand to the USA.